Mean for a reason
by Ryn11
Summary: Fifteen year old Maya Hart is a bully, with no friends to speak of and a family situation that's less than desirable. She's built a wall around herself, a wall that she believes is impenetrable. However, what she doesn't realise is that a few kind acts form a caring teacher and an unlikely bond with his life-loving daughter will bring the wall crashing down around her.
1. Chapter 1

Fifteen year old Maya Hart was in a really freaking terrible mood. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her black hoodie as she stormed down the school corridor, glaring daggers at anyone who so much as looked at her. Stupid kids ran around corners at the sight of her, even the braver ones going silent as she passed. Everyone in the entire school knew not to mess with her, especially if she was in a bad mood, and that was the way she liked it. She couldn't remember the last time someone had actually tried to talk to her. Her habit of breaking people's noses made sure of that. Speaking of broken noses... Farkle Minkus, a regular target of hers, was standing directly in front of her. His stupid hair was styled exactly the same way as always, and he had on one of his usual turtle necks. He was talking to his two friends, Lucas 'the noble cowboy' Friar, who the entire school was in love with and Riley 'bunnies and sunshine' Mathews. She didn't know why, but these three always got on her nerves even more than the other kids. Something about the way they never stopped smiling set her on edge.

"Hey," she barked. They all turned to look at her. Farkle whimpered slightly and hid behind Riley, who stepped to the left to hide behind Lucas. The cowboy looked nervous, but held his ground. He probably figured that since he was a good head taller and probably twice as heavy as Maya, he'd be safe. How wrong he was.

"What do you want?" Lucas asked warily. Maya snapped her fingers and held out her hand.

"Lunch money. Stat."

"I don't have any," Farkle piped up, sticking his head out from behind his two human shields. "My allergies mean I can't eat most of the school food, so my mom packs my lunch for me." Maya snorted and he quickly retracted his head.

"Take mine, but don't take my friend's," Lucas said steadily. He reached into his pocket and brought out a ten dollar note, placing it carefully in her hand. She inspected the money for a moment, before shoving it into her pocket.

"No deal." She took Lucas by the front of his shirt and wrenched him to the side, so Riley was left unprotected.

"Please don't hurt me," Riley whimpered, holding out her own money. Maya snatched it out of her hand and pocketed it.

"You can just get more from your _daddy_ ," she said venomously. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Lucas moving towards her cautiously. Her eyes gleamed. This was going to be fun.

In one fluid motion she turned and leapt at him, smashing her fist into his jaw. The release of energy was beautiful. He reeled back, clutching at his jaw, but made no move to throw a punch of his own. This annoyed her somewhat.

"Fight back," she hissed, nailing a kick to his gut that made him cry out. She'd enjoy it less if he didn't fight back. Everyone in the corridor had stopped to watch, forming a kind of circle around them.

"Don't hurt him!" Riley cried out, sounding nearly hysterical. Maya ignored her, focusing her full attention on the cowboy. He straightened up, a look of grim determination on his face.

"I'm not going to fight you, Maya," he said firmly. "Violence doesn't solve violence." His high-mindedness infuriated her and she advanced on him again. He didn't even move back or attempt to dodge as she decked him. He landed hard on his back and gasped as the breath rushed out of him. Once he was on the ground she delivered a vicious kick to his ribs. His hand flew to his side and he groaned.

"Stop!" Riley screamed. Maya turned away from Lucas and started towards the brunette, her eyes on fire.

"What's going on here?" A mild, male voice said suddenly. The circle of kids cleared out almost instantly, leaving Maya, Riley, Farkle and Lucas standing in an empty hallway. Mr Matthews was striding towards them. When he saw Lucas on the ground his usually pleasant face turned very, very angry. Riley sighed in relief and Maya contemplated decking her too, even though Mr Matthews was watching.

"She stole our lunch money and hurt Lucas," Riley whined in that annoying, high pitched voice of hers. Mr Matthews helped Lucas to his feet, gently patting him on the back.

"I'm alright Sir," Lucas said, in answer to his unspoken question. "Just a few bumps and bruises."

"You're lucky thats all you got," Maya said dryly. "Next time I won't be so gentle." Mr Matthews turned to her, frowning heavily. Maya glared right back, her hands curling into fists.

"Riley," he said, not taking his eyes from Maya's face. "Did Mr Friar provoke Miss Hart in anyway?"

"Of course not," Riley said indignantly. "He wouldn't even fight back!" Mr Matthews nodded gravely.

"I see. Miss Hart, give them back their money." She glowered at them for a second, before dropping the money on the floor at their feet. Riley scrambled to pick hers up, while Lucas had to ease down, wincing.

"You're going to need to come up to my office with me," Mr Matthews said gravely. Being sent to a teacher's office was an almost daily occurrence, so Maya wasn't phased in the least. She shrugged.

"Sure, if it gets me out of your crappy history class." If her comment angered Mr Matthews, he didn't show it.

"Farkle, please begin the class while I'm dealing with this." Farkle's whole face lit up at the prospect.

"Yes, Sir," he chirped. Mr Matthews took Maya firmly by the arm, which made her want to rip his head off, and started to march her down the corridor towards his office.

Mr Matthew's office smelt pleasantly of coffee and paper and was bathed in a warm glow from a single, dusty window. Mr Matthew shut the door behind them and directed Maya to sit in the chair before his desk. She slowly sat as he strolled casually around his desk, sat in his black leather chair, and then proceeded to stare at her. Maya shifted under his gaze, slightly uncomfortable.

"Just yell at me already, would you?" she said stiffly, after a few minutes of staring and silence. Mr Matthews sighed heavily.

"Alright, Maya, what's going on?" Maya's eyebrows contracted.

"What d'you mean?"

"What's wrong?" he elaborated. "Is it drugs? Alcohol? Family problems? Something else outside of school?" Maya blinked. Usually teachers just shouted meaningless words and threats of expulsion at her for ten minutes or so, then told her to get back to class. Mr Matthews shook his head in exasperation.

"Come on, Maya, I've been in this gig for awhile now. Kids don't just go around stealing other kid's lunch money and beating them up without a reason. Do you have money for lunch? Is that why you steal other people's?"

"Of course I do," Maya spat, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Can I see it?" Mr Matthews asked, his eyebrows raised. Maya felt her cheeks heat up a little. She glared at the desk, refusing to answer. Mr Matthews watched her for awhile longer, before pushing a ten dollar bill towards her from across the table.

"For lunch today," he said when she frowned, confused. "You need to make sure you eat enough, it's important." She slowly took the money between her fingers, not really believing her eyes. No one had _ever_ just handed her cash like that, not unless she'd threatened them in some way. The crisp bill felt odd in her hands. She figured she should probably say thank you or something, but that really wasn't her style.

"Uh," she said awkwardly, stuffing the money in her pocket. "I promise I'll use it for lunch." He smiled at her and stood up.

"Alright then, now that that's settled let's get back to class." She blinked.

"You're not even going to give me a detention?" He shook his head.

"Not unless you want one?"

"I'm good," she said quickly, which made him laugh.

"I will have to call your parents though. School policy in a fight as serious as that one, I'm afraid." A bolt of terror struck through her. Usually they didn't bother calling home.

"Why?" she asked, forcing her voice to stay neutral.

"We need to let them know," he shrugged.

"I'll tell them." Yeah, right.

"I have to call them, Maya."

"I'll take a detention," she said, breathing hard through her nose. "Hell, I'll take as many as you want. After school, before school, weekends, whatever. I promise I won't get into any more fights." Mr Matthews hesitated.

"No more fights?" he asked, incredously.

"For a whole month," she promised, knowing full well she'd regret her words later. "I won't take any more lunch money, either, or talk back to any teachers." He thought about her proposition for awhile, his expression pensive.

"It's a deal," he said finally. "But if you break your word, I'm going to call your parents." Maya felt a little lightheaded from relief. She gripped the edge of his desk tightly.

"Okay." He held out his hand for her to shake and she gingerly did so.

"Now we really do have to get back to class," he said cheerfully. She stood with him, and together they walked back down the hall to the history class room.

 **Hope you enjoyed :) if you have the time I'd love to hear some feedback.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two :) Enjoy!**

'Farkle time' was in full swing as they entered the room. Half of the class was asleep at their desks, and the other half looked like they were well on their way. At the bang of the door closing everyone's head jerked up. Mr Matthews just smiled.

"Thank you, I am Farkle!" Farkle concluded. Maya 'accidentley' bumped his books out of his hands as they passed each other while going to their respective desks. Mr Matthews shot her a warning look and she cleared her throat. He glanced meaningfully at Farkle, who was gathering up his scattered materials. She sighed, but bent to help him nonetheless. There were a few surprised intakes of breath from the surrounding students, and Farkle himself looked terrified. She shoved his pencil case and folder into his arms, then took her seat. At the start of the year Mr Matthews had positioned her directly in front of him, so he could keep an eye on her. Riley sat next to her, which neither of the girls was particularly ecstatic about. Lucas sat directly behind her. Maya didn't mind that, because he never complained when she leaned on his desk, though it was probably because he was scared of her. Farkle sat diagonally behind her, which she minded a lot because his stupid geek talk and high pitched voice made her want to rip his tongue out.

"Alright, class," Mr Matthews began, rubbing his hands together. "Today, we'll be studying the importance of the civil war, and how it relates to all of our lives." Maya zoned out as he continued to drone on about famous generals and presidents in the making, adding deep remarks here and their about how they all had personal civil wars raging inside themselves. He seemed to look at Maya particularly when he said that, and she glared up at him. Her insides were perfectly at peace. Apart from her stomach, which was making low growling noises thanks to the fact she hadn't had breakfast this morning. Or dinner last night. Or lunch yesterday, because she'd been two hours late to school and hadn't had a chance to steal anyone's money. She realised with a start that she'd have to find a way of getting food some how, because if she wasn't going to get any fights this month then she'd have no way of eating at school.

"Honey, I'm home!" Cory called jovially as he strode into his living room, after a taxing afternoon of grading papers. Topanga Matthews appeared, looking as gorgeous as ever.

"May I just say, I'm the luckiest man alive," Cory said, beaming. Topanga gave a little giggle and swept her husband into a hug. Auggie Matthews appeared, and Cory winked at his son from over his wife's shoulder.

"Auggie boy, remember when you get a wife to always compliment her. Otherwise, she'll purposely burn your dinner."

"Cory Matthews," Topanga half gasped, half laughed, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. Cory grinned at her, and they sat down together on the couch. Auggie hurtled over the back of it and wiggled in between his two parents, laying his head on his father's shoulder.

"How was your day, Daddy?" he asked sweetly. Cory ruffled his hair.

"Not too bad, Aug."

"Not too bad?!" Riley exclaimed, appearing at the foot of the stairs. "Not too bad?! Maya attacked Lucas, and was about to start on me, too!" Topanga clicked her tongue.

"That girl's a menace, Cory. Please tell me you gave her a good talking to?!" Cory shrugged.

"I don't think she's all bad. Most kids like her are good at heart, they just have stuff cluttering up their lives which pushes them off the path a little."

"Maya's evil," Riley protested. "She's the spawn of the devil!"

Four suburbs away, in the 'bad' part of town, Maya was sitting on her mattress in her grungy little room in her grungy apartment block, drawing flowers. She'd perfected the art of drawing a poppy awhile ago, and was now trying to master a tulip. It was a little tricky since she was drawing from memory and she figured the last time she'd actually seen a tulip was when she was about five, but it wasn't turning out too badly. Her homework lay abandoned in her school bag, which she'd immediately tossed against the wall when she first walked into her bedroom four hours ago. She wasn't sure if it qualified as a bedroom, actually. All it really had was her mattress, a garbage bag that contained her very minimal wardrobe and a pile of old sketchbooks stacked in the corner. She began to carefully shade one side of the flower as she munched distractedly on a fish stick she'd saved from lunch. The lunch lady always gave her a little extra to take home, which Maya was eternally grateful for. Most of the students thought she was just a garbage guts, but no one noticed as she carefully tipped her left overs into her school bag every day. Fish sticks were surprisingly good cold. She grabbed the water bottle that sat beside her bed and washed the greasy little morsel down with a swig of water. She didn't like to leave her room much, so she always kept some water handy.

She had just finished her flower when her well trained ears heard the faint click that meant the door to the apartment had just opened. She shoved her pitiful, half-finished meal back into her backpack just as the door to her room was thrown open. She didn't look up to see who had entered, instead she just stared down at her feet as the sketch book was tugged roughly out of her hands. There was a loud snort, and then the page with the tulip on it fluttered into her lap. She stared at it blankly. The life-like flower was ripped in two. An almost empty beer bottle was hurled at the wall, just above her head. She couldn't help but flinch a little at the familiar but horrific sound it made. Glass and alcohol rained down on her. The door to her room slammed shut again. She let out the breath she'd been holding. She'd gotten off way easy. Gingerly, she took the pieces of the drawing in her hands and fitted them back together. They went together perfectly, but after they'd been ripped apart so savagely it just wasn't the same.

 **So we're starting to see the possible reason behind why Maya's such a jerk... interesting ;) I've got a couple of chapters pre-written and I'll be rolling them out over the next week or so, ao stay tuned! Thanks to the people who have reviewed so far!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I figure I should probably start putting these so:**

 **Disclaimer- I don't own girl meets world (unfortunately).**

"You have glass in your hair," Mr Matthews observed, the next day during their history lesson. Maya flicked the tiny, sparkling shard at Riley, who shrieked.

"You smell like beer, too. Have you been drinking?" The class, who had been working dilligently on their assigned questions, raised their heads as if they were one person. Maya grit her teeth. Why would he ask that, especially in front of everyone? Even if she had been drinking, what was it to him?

"Yes," she lied smoothly. Next to her, Riley's eyes widened and from behind her, Farkle gave an audible gasp.

"That's not good," Mr Matthews frowned. "Alcohol can damage your brain cells, Maya, and make you do things you wouldn't normally do." _And occasionally, it can make people want to beat the crap out of whoever they can get their hands on._

"No kidding," Maya grumbled. Her classmates incessant staring was starting to get annoying.

"You have more glass in your hair," Mr Matthews observed. Maya slammed her book shut and stood up, pinning him with one of her death glares. He took a half-step back, which satisfied her somewhat.

"Can I be excused?"

"What for?"

"Bathroom." Mr Matthews sighed dramatically.

"Very well." He scribbled his signature on a blank hallpass and handed it to her. She snatched it from between his fingers, grabbed her bag and stalked towards the door.

"You won't be needing your bag," Mr Matthews called out.

"I'm not coming back," she answered, not even bothering to turn around.

"Oh dear," she heard Mr Matthews sigh, before she slammed the door behind her and swung her bag over her shoulder.

She figured she'd just roam the hallways for awhile, maybe find somewhere to hole up and draw. She'd finished her other sketch book last night and it had joined the pile in her room. Currently, she had a nice fresh one in her bag. She had about twenty dollars saved up in stolen lunch money, which she dedicated to her sketchbook fund. The three dollars fifty they cost from the store down the road was always worth it, about a hundred times over. She strolled easily down the corridor, whistling tunelessly, until she came across one of Janitor Keiner's closets. Turning in a circle to make sure no one was watching, she slipped into the musty space. It smelt like bleach, but that was good because it overpowered the smell of beer coming from her hair. She'd washed it as best she could that morning, pouring the remaining water in her bottle over her head, but evidently it hadn't been enough to remove the smell or the glass shards. She took out her sketchbook and rolled her stubby pencil between her fingers, staring at the blank page. Deciding what to draw was always the most difficult bit. She glanced at her surroundings, finally deciding on a blue bottle of paint thinner. It started off innocently enough, but soon it had manifested itself into the outline a young boy tipping the deadly substance into his mouth, a look of serene calm on his face.

"Jeez, Maya," she sighed as she looked at her half-finished work. Sometimes she was so... Morbid.

The bell rang, signalling the end of class, and she frowned slightly. She had no money, thanks to her promise not to fight anyone, and she sure as hell wasn't going to walk into the cafeteria and watch everyone else eat.

"Screw it," she muttered, bending over her sketch pad again. She'd figure out a way to get something tonight. Maybe.

Mr Matthews was a little worried. Maya hadn't come back to class, and she wasn't at lunch. The former he been expecting, but not the latter. Following a powerful hunch he'd been checking all the school's janitorial closets. On his third one now, he gently tapped on the door.

"Maya?" he called tentitavely. There was an answering sigh from the other side of the door and he smiled a little, opening the door a crack and sticking his head in.

"How come you're not at lunch?" he asked. She was clutching a sketchbook to her chest, glaring at him.

"Not hungry," she said frostily. He opened the door further and slipped in, sitting on a large paint can opposite her.

"Do you not have money again?" She averted her eyes, which was all the answer he needed. He reached into his pocket and held out another ten dollar bill to her. She looked at it, frowning a little.

"I'm not a charity case." He rolled his eyes.

"I know that. Just take the money." She slowly reached out and he placed it in her hand. Her fingers instantly closed over it, like he was going to snatch it back from her.

"Why do you keep giving me money?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused. He patted her knee, which was the only part of her he could reach. "You're not grooming me, are you? Cause let me tell you right now, it's not going to work." He cringed a little at the idea.

"Of course not! I just think everyone deserves to have a good lunch." She threw him a long, calculating look, like she didn't quite believe him, but put the money into her pocket nonetheless.

"Watch drawing?" he asked, nodding to the sketch book in her hands. She shrugged.

"Can I see?" he asked hopefully. She stuffed her sketchbook into her bag in answer and he gave a long suffering sigh.

"Fine, fine. I suppose all great artists are secretive about their work." She made to stand up, but he out a hand on her knee again.

"I'm serious, you know. I've seen some of your paintings displayed around school. You really are a great artist." Her cheeks turned a little pink at the compliment, and he resolved to give them to her more often.

"Are you sure you're not grooming me?" she said, giving a tentative smile. He realised with a shock he'd never actually seen her smile before. It changed her whole face; made her look younger, more... Wholesome.

"Positive," he chuckled.

Lunch that day was excellent. And the day after, and the day after, and the day after. Then again, she thought all food tasted fantastic. Even when they served brussels sprouts, which all the other kids refused to even touch but she wolfed down. All that week she had the luxury of eating a good lunch, even if it was the only meal she got. The weekend wasn't that bad, either. She'd managed to save a few dollars and used the money to buy two serves of fries, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. It wasn't exactly filling, but it was more than she usually got and combined with the three bread rolls she'd managed to save from school lunches, she actually felt somewhat nourished. However, during the next week everything went wrong.

 **Oooooh cliff hanger... What's going to happen next?! I know, but you don't (haha). If you're enjoying this story so far** ** _please_** **take the time to leave a review, even criticism is greatly appreciated :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the long wait for this chapter, schools been nuts lately. Regardless, hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own girl meets world.**

It was Thursday afternoon, and Mr Matthews was worried. He was on lunch duty for the first time this week, and despite the fact he'd given Maya money as usual, she wasn't there. He was starting to become rather attached to the blonde haired girl. She'd kept her promise of not getting into any more fights, and he was proud of her.

"Where's Maya?" he asked, strolling up to the table where his daughter and her friends were sitting.

"Maya Hart?" Lucas asked, raising his eyebrows. Mr Matthews nodded, scanning the room again incase he'd missed her.

"She hasn't been to lunch since Monday," Riley said thoughtfully. "And actually, she hasn't been as mean of late. Have you noticed that, Farkle?"

"She hasn't said anything about my turtle necks since last week," Farkle agreed. "Maybe she's sick or something."Sorry abo

"Yes, yes," Mr Matthews said distractedly. She hadn't been at lunch since Monday? He'd given her money every single day! He bid his daughter farewell and hurried out of the lunch room to Maya's usual closet.

"It's me," he said urgently, rapping on the door. Maya didn't respond, though he did hear the tell-tale snap of a sketch book shutting. He opened the door. Maya looked up at him, her eyebrows raised.

"What?" she asked, a little wearily. He frowned.

"I gave you money. Why aren't you at lunch?" She bit her lip, which he noticed was split already.

"Not hungry." Anger rose in him.

"Riley said you haven't been to lunch since Monday. That's thirty dollars of my money you haven't spent like I instructed you to. I'm very disappointed, Maya." She shrugged.

"I had to spend it on other stuff."

"Like?" she glared at him.

"None of your business."

Maya put her sketch book away, stood up and made to storm out, but a wave of dizziness hit her and her knees buckled beneath her.

"Are you alright?" Mr Matthews gasped, all trace of anger gone. She stood up again, swaying a little.

"Yeah, I just got up too fast." She tried to push past him, but her knees gave out again. He grabbed her before she could fall, surveying her worriedly. She knew she looked like crap. Her last glance in the school bathroom mirror had revealed that she was even paler than usual, and she had dark shadows under her eyes.

"When was the last time you ate?" he asked gently. She blinked, having trouble forming an answer.

"Breakfast," she managed to get out.

"Oh really?" he asked sceptically. "What did you have?" If she was honest with herself, she couldn't even remember what normal people had for breakfast anymore.

"Uh," she said slowly. "Juice and... toast. With jam." Her stomach gave a loud grumble at the thought.

"We're going to the nurses office," he said firmly. He put an arm around her shoulders and she winced a little as pain flashed through her. If he noticed, he didn't comment on it as she guided her out of the closet and down the hall. She was really glad no one was around to see her being literally held up by a teacher. It would completely obliterate the reputation she'd worked so hard to disguise herself in. She realised numbly that her legs were shaking. Another wave of dizziness hit her and Mr Matthew's arm was the only thing stopping her from face planting.

"Almost there," he said encouragingly. She had to take his word for it, because her vision had reduced to a black and white tunnel.

"Here we are." Mr Matthews pushed open a door, and the smell of anti septic hit Maya like a brick wall. Mr Matthews helped her to sit down on the sick bay bed as he pressed the little red button that meant the nurse was needed. She watched him blearily as he fussed around, pouring her a glass of water and holding it to her lips for her.

"Drink," he instructed, and she did so because she felt too shaky to refuse. The water didn't really help so he forced her to lie down, gently lifting her head so he could place a pillow under it. The nurse arrived, finally. She and Mr Matthews conversed for half a minute or so. Her brain was too muddled to make out much of their conversation, but odd phrases jumped out at her. She can't walk well... Feeling faint... I don't think she's eaten for while and then, possibly the best thing she'd ever heard, going to get her some food from the cafeteria. The door squeaked open and closed, and then Mr Matthews was gone.

"Alright dear," the nurse said gently, taking her limp hand. "When was the last time you ate?" The same lie she'd told Mr Matthews was right on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't have the energy for even that.

"Monday lunch," she said quietly. The nurse tutted.

"A growing young lady like you needs to eat three meals every day." If she could have laughed, she would have. She was fairly sure she hadn't eaten that much a day in her entire life.

The nurse made her drink more water until Mr Matthews returned, with a plate of steaming hot rice in his hands. It was plain, but the nurse remarked that was better anyway. She scooped some up on a fork and instructed Maya to open her mouth. From somewhere deep down, Maya felt a tug of resistance.

"No," she muttered. The nurse and Mr Matthews looked at each other worriedly, and Maya could practically see the word anorexia floating around.

"I can feed myself," she elaborated. Mr Matthew's face erupted into a relieved smile.

"Of course you can." He helped her sit up and the nurse handed her the plate. She downed about half the rice in two seconds flat, her eyes closing in pure ecstasy. It was the best thing she'd ever tasted.

"If you don't mind, Nurse, Maya and I are going to have a little chat," Mr Matthews said. The Nurse nodded and disappeared into her office, which joined with the sickbay. Maya continued to shovel rice into her mouth, refusing to make eye contact with her history teacher.

"Maya," he said sternly.

"Maya," she mimicked in a deep voice. He ignored her.

"What's going on, kiddo? You have the money for lunch, you're hungry and you clearly don't have a problem with eating, so why don't you buy food? The nurse told me what you said. No food since Monday. That's three whole days, Maya." Maya didn't say anything. Compared to the amount of time she'd gone without food before, three days wasn't all that bad. In fact, she wasn't even sure why her body had freaked out on her like that. It had happened plenty of times before, but not after a mere three days of no food.

"Where's the money going?" he asked. She finished the rice and set the plate aside, with hands that were thankfully no longer shaking.

"Is it drugs?" he pressed. "Booze?" She cringed internally at the thought. Her disgust must have shown on her face, because he softened.

"You need to tell me," he said, taking her hand. She pulled it out of his grip, tugging at the bottom of her hoodie. She knew she should lie, but he was being so nice to her. It was completely disarming.

"We don't have a whole lot of money at home and my... father, needed extra these past couple of nights for..." she wracked her brains, "washing power." Washing powder? Real smooth, Hart. "He, uh, figured out someone was giving me money and he wanted it."

"I see." Mr Matthews was looking at her intensely, which made her feel uncomfortable. "Your Father thinks washing powder is more important than lunch for his daughter. I'm guessing there's not a lot of food at home, either." This conversation had gone way too far.

"There usually is, but we ran out this week and he forgot to go shopping. It was just an accident, he'll go tonight ." That was a complete lie, but it seemed to satisfy Mr Matthews.

"Alright then." He patted Maya on the shoulder. "I guess I'm going to have to give you enough for lunch and your father, then." Maya's heart stopped.

"That's like twenty dollars a day, Mr Matthews. You don't have to..."

"Fifteen," he decided, handing her an extra five. "Tell your father they dropped the price of school lunches to five dollars. I can write a note, if you want." Maya just stared at him.

"You really shouldn't," she said nervously. "That's a lot of money, still. I don't mind going without lunch, and maybe I can talk to him..."

"If you thought you could talk to him you would have bought lunch today, instead of starving yourself to the point of passing out," Mr Matthews said gently. Maya opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again because what he was saying was completely true. Mr Matthews put a hand on her shoulder, and she winced again. There was a particularly bad bruise from a week or so ago that was still healing, and his fingers were brushing against it.

"If you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here," Mr Matthews said gently. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah, right." He smiled a little and took his hand off of her shoulder.

"You stay here for awhile. I'll tell your next teacher that you're not feeling well." He made to leave snd she felt something strange rise up in her.

"Wait," she said. He stopped at the door and looked over his shoulder. She bit her lip nervously.

"I, um... Well, what I mean to say is, uh... Thank you." The simple words sounded foreign. His face broke into a huge smile.

"You're very welcome."

 **Please take the time to leave a review, and thanks to everyone who has so far!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait! This chapters a long one though, so hopefully that'll partly make up for it :)**

She was drawing a picture of a plate of rice on her bedroom that night when the door opened again. It was silent for while, apart from the sound of heavy breathing. She shut her sketchbook slowly and placed it on the bed next to her, not taking her eyes from her beat up old combat boots.

"Little shit," swore a rasping, gravely voice. The voice of someone who smoked a few too many cigarettes in their life time. To anyone else it would have been nothing more than an insult, but to her it was a request. With shaking hands she pulled the five dollars out of her pocket.

"They, um, they lowered the price of lunch to only five dollars, so I..." she trailed off and held the money out. It was ripped from between her fingers with about four times the necessary force.

"You're lying." Maya's insides turned to ice.

"N-no, I swear that's the truth." It was quiet for another few seconds, and she thought maybe she'd gotten off easy. However, suddenly a fist was tangled in her hair and she was being hauled upward. It stung her scalp and she wondered if it was finally going to rip out this time. She closed her eyes as hot breath was blown into her face, smelling of cigarette smoke and cheap booze. It wasn't that she was scared to look (though in all honesty she supposed she was just a litte), but the fact that the sight of her eyes always sent the evil bastard into even more of a drunken rage than he was usually in.

"Little shit." Apparently, the monster was too drunk tonight to come up with any creative insults. The hold on her hair tightened, then was released suddenly and she was hurled into the wall. She hit it back first, and gasped as the air rushed out of her. A boot slammed into her unprotected stomach and she reflexively curled up into the featal position at the bottom of the wall, with her hands protecting her head. She sucked in a breath, waiting for the next blow, but it never came. The door to her room slammed shut, and she was mercifully alone again.

Maya allowed herself a small wince as she gingerly uncurled and prodded her stomach. She was going to have a pretty spectacular bruise tomorrow. Remaining on her hands and knees, she crawled back towards her mattress where her beloved sketch book lay, thankfully untouched. She opened it up again, picked up her pencil and began to put the finishing touches on her bowl of rice. If she tried really hard she could almost smell it, and could almost feel the warm steaming kissing her face. She inhaled deeply, but the emptiness in her gut was too profound for the thought of food to fill.

It was eight forty pm, and Riley Matthews was standing in a subway station, completely alone. She'd stayed back late at school with Lucas and Farkle to finish a school project, and had ended up staying at Lucas' for dinner. She knew her parents would be mad she'd broken her seven o'clock curfew, but she figured they'd come around when she told them exactly how delicious Mrs Friar's cooking always was, and how hard it was to get her to stop talking. Besides, she didn't think their was any worse punishment her parents could give than the feeling of guilt that always stuck with her for days if she broke any one of their rules. She knew they were fair, and that they were only in place to protect her. Sighing, she glanced up at the timetable. The train was supposed to be here by now. She was starting to get nervous, too. Even though she was in a fairly good neighbourhood, a New York subway station wasn't exactly a great place to be at this hour, especially if you are alone and female.

"Fruit loops," she muttered, tapping her foot nervously. A big, seedy looking man behind her snorted a little, and she blushed.

"All alone, darlin'?" he slurred, obviously drunk. Riley cringed.

"I, uh, no, of course not. My... My father is just in the toilet. He'll be back any second."

"Sure thing." The man grinned, displaying yellow teeth, and took a couple of steps towards Riley. She moved backwards a little, but found that she was now standing right on the edge of the platform.

"You lookin' for a good time, honey? I say you come back to my place and we make some magic. How 'bout it?"

"No thank you," Riley squeaked. The man's smile grew and he made to reply, but was cut off by a hand on his shoulder. He wheeled around and found himself face to face with a very pissed off looking Maya.

"Back off, Stevens," she spat, shoving him a little. He staggered backwards, his beady little eyes trying desperately to focus on what was in front of him.

"You're that Hart kid," he said, clearly surprised. "The hell are you doin' here?"

"None of your business. Get lost." Maya's stomach was still aching, and she was in the mood for a fight.

"I don't think so." The man, Stevens, as she knew him by, shoved her back. She stood her ground, her lips stretching into a cold grin.

"Stop screwing around with her and go pick up a hooker. They're more in your league." He growled, clearly angry now.

"Listen here runt, stop actin' so tough like you own this place. I got buddies who can make you disappear like that," he tried to snap his fingers, but apparently he was so intoxicated that even a simple gesture like that was too much. Not breaking eye contact with him, Maya pulled her secret weapon from her back pocket. It was only a pocket knife, and wasn't all that sharp, but she knew from personal experience that it could do a hell of a lot of damage.

"See ya," she said, jerking her head to the nearest exit and pressing the knife lightly against Steven's chest. The disgusting man's eyes widened.

"Okay, okay, I'm gone," he held up his hands and started walking backwards towards the exit, his eyes fixed on Maya's blade.

Once she was certain he was gone, Maya shoved the small knife back into her pocket and turned to Riley, who looked absolutely petrified.

"Watch it around here from now on," Maya said stiffly. "He's going to be looking for revenge, and he wasn't kidding about those buddies of his." Riley nodded shakily to show she understood. She looked like she wanted to say something, and even opened her mouth, but when she did no words came out. Maya turned to follow Steven's out of the dingy tunnel. What she hadn't told Riley was that Steven's would be looking for her for revenge. He probably wouldn't even remember the sweet looking young brunette he'd tried to seduce so terribly. She'd come here for some piece and quiet to draw after he room had gotten too claustrophobic, but it wouldn't be smart to stay for much longer.

"Wait!" Riley yelled suddenly. Maya would have been inclined to ignore her, but she sounded so desperate that she stopped and turned again.

"What?"

"Please don't go." Riley's eyes were wide and imploring. "He might... He might come back and I'm really scared." Maya grit her teeth. So what, she was supposed to baby sit this stupid girl? Riley sniffled a little and Maya swore.

"Fine, but if you try to talk to me I'm going to stab you myself." Riley went to say yes, but shut her mouth and nodded instead.

"Good," Maya said shortly.

They ended up having to wait half an hour for the subway because of delays of some sort, further down the line. Privately, Maya was glad she'd stayed with Riley, because as the night furthered more shifty looking people appeared in the station. Most recognised her (she'd developed quite a reputation in the underworld of New York over the last few years) and gave her and Riley a wide berth. If Riley noticed the deterrent effect Maya was having, she didn't show it. True to her word she remained completely silent, staring at the tracks with her hands folded neatly in her lap.

Eventually the train came and Maya shoved Riley through the doors. It wasn't too crowded, thankfully, and they found seats next to each other. One you man approached them, wearing an oversized flannel shirt that smelt strongly of weed.

"'Sup?" he asked smoothly, leaning against the back of their chairs.

"Go away," Maya said flatly. She ruled out flashing the knife; this guy wasn't going to be dangerous. As she'd predicted, he shrugged and strolled off down the aisle, probably looking for some other girls to harass. Even though the encounter had been fairly innocent (by Maya's standards, at least), Riley shifted closer to her and seemed to shrink in on herself. Maya was reminded of the way a plant shrinks when deprived of the sun.

"You're so... Delicate," she observed, before she could stop herself. Riley blinked.

"I'm not delicate. I think," she frowned, "I think I just like to pretend everything in the world is good, but in situations like this it's harder than usual so I retreat to myself." Maya rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Confucius." Riley's face broke into a smile, and she even laughed a little. The sight of the brunette's goofy smile usually annoyed Maya, but for some reason this time it was kind of... Warming?

 **hope you enjoyed and (pretty) please leave a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey :) Sorry I've been so long updating! I have trouble commiting to my stories sometimes, buf I have a clear picture of where this one is going so the next update will be sooner, I promise!**

An hour or so later and they were standing at the bottom of Riley's apartment building. Maya turned to Riley.

"See you round, I guess." Riley blinked.

"You're just going to leave?!" It was well after ten now, and despite the fact her neighbourhood had the lowest crime rates in the city, the streets still weren't particularly inviting.

"Uh, yeah," Maya said, looking confused. Riley bit her lip and glanced up at her apartment. Maya groaned.

"There's no way I'm walking you to your door. You can get there yourself."

"D'you want to come in for awhile?" The words tumbled out of her mouth in a rush, stumbling over one and other.

"No," Maya said immediately, shoving down the shock that Riley, of all people, would ask her that.

"My parents will want to thank you, though!"

"Tell Mr Matthews I owe him, anyway." Riley had no idea what she was talking about. All she really knew was that her parents had not raised someone who'd leave a fifteen year old girl alone on the streets of New York, no matter how proficient the said girl was with a knife.

"Please?" Riley asked desperately. "We could have a midnight snack? Well, a ten o'clock snack I guess, but you know what I mean." Maya started tapping her foot, clearly irritated.

"No."

"Maya..." Riley grabbed the blonde's arm. Due to the baggy sweatshirts she always wore, Riley was surprised to find that her arm was painfully thin.

"Get off," Maya grumbled, wrenching her wrist out of Riley's grip.

"We have cookies," Riley said tantalizingly. "And chocolate cake my grandma brought over. It's legendary in our family." Maya sighed, and Riley braced herself for rejection again.

"Fine, but it better be damn good cake."

"Yay!" Riley squeaked, grabbing Maya's wrist again and tugging her towards the door. Maya scowled at her until she released her hand, but still followed Riley through the lobby and up the stairs to the Matthew's apartment.

As soon as Maya saw the smooth, fancy looking oak door she knew this had been a mistake. She didn't think she'd ever entered a room with such a nice door.

"My mum and dad might be mad at me," Riley informed her as she fitted her key into the brass lock, sounding a little nervous. Maya nodded, and braced herself for some major yelling and perhaps a few threats of physical harm. The door creaked open and Riley audibly sucked in a breath. Maya caught a glimpse of a very modern, yet homely looking living room, before her vision was obscured by two adults. Startled, she took a step back.

"Where have you been?" Mr Matthews exclaimed. He didn't sound particularly angry though, just relieved and upset.

"You have a curfew for a reason, young lady," the woman, who could only be Riley's mother, said. She didn't really sound angry either and Maya felt slightly disconcerted.

I'm sorry," Riley said sadly, hanging her hand in shame. "I stayed for dinner at Lucas', and then the subway was really late. I would've called, but my phone is out of credit..." Riley's parents stared her down for a moment, then at the same time they both enveloped her into a hug. Maya had to work to keep her jaw from dropping open.

"It's alright, Riles, but please don't scare us like that again." Mr Matthews said gently, stroking his daughter's hair. With her head tucked neatly under his chin, he noticed Maya for the first time. His eyes widened a little.

"Maya? What are you doing here?!" Maya cleared her throat. She was right, this had been a terrible idea. She felt like an intruder; she didn't belong within a hundred meters of this happy, perfect little family.

"I, uh, walked Riley home, but I'll just be going now." She turned, but Mrs Matthews darted around her daughter and blocked Maya's way to the door.

"Nonsense!" She reached for Maya, and Maya took another couple of hasty steps back, flinching inwardly. However, Mrs Matthews just pulled her into a hug. She was squeezing tight, her flowery smelling hair tickling Maya's nose and it was unbearable. Maya felt completely and totally vunerable, like all her armour had suddenly been ripped away. Her breathing turned erratic and her nostrils flared. She had to get away, now. She started to push Mrs Matthews pff her, but before she could get herself free Mrs Matthews stepped back. Maya let out a long breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. It felt like her brain had just short circuited.

"Um," she said, blinking in confusion. Mrs Matthews gave a good natured laugh.

"Corey used to react to my hugs that way." She shot a look at Mr Matthews, who grinned sheepishly. "But these days he takes them for granted far too much for my liking."

"I do not!" Mr Matthews gasped. "I would never take you for granted, honey." Mrs Matthews winked at her husband, then turned back to Maya.

"Would you like a drink, Maya? Tea, coffee, juice?" Maya faintly remembered a TV program she'd seen once, in which a hostess had offered a guest a drink. If she remembered correctly, she was pretty sure the polite thing to do was just ask for water.

"Ah, could I have some water? Please?" The last word was really weird to say, and somehow burned her tongue a little.

"Sure thing," Mrs Matthews beamed, and went off immediately into the kitchen to fufill her request. While she was busy, Mr Matthews rounded on her.

"Thank you so much for keeping Riley company," he said earnestly. Maya shifted awkwardly. She was way out of her comfort zone in this setting. Dimly, she marvelled at the irony of the fact that she'd rather be sleeping next to a dumpster in some seedy alleyway than be standing in a high-end apartment with thanks being thrown at her.

"She made me," Maya explained, hoping that they would stop being so nice to her. "I was going to leave." Mr Matthews smiled.

"But you stayed, and for that we owe you."

"I promised her a piece of Grandma's chocolate cake," Riley piped up. Maya felt her cheeks heat up and internally sighed, ordering herself to get it together.

"You don't have to-" she started, but Mrs Matthews had heard and was already cutting a slice.

"Sit down," Mr Matthews instructed her, gesturing to the plump, comfortable looking couch. Maya hesitated. Her clothes weren't exactly clean and she didn't want to stain it.

"Sit," Riley instructed her somewhat fiercely, jabbing her thumb at the couch. Maya obeyed the order, gingerly sinking into the couch. Is was quite possibly the most comfortable thing she'd ever sat on.

"Woah," she muttered to herself. God, if only her mattress were this comfortable. Mrs Matthews came flittering back to the living room and handed Maya her water and her cake. She took both with shaking hands. Riley sat next to her, and Mr and Mrs Matthews stood before them.

"So, tell us about your adventure," Mr Matthews said, a little too enthusiastically for his wife's liking. "Did anything exciting happen?"

"Maya totally scared off this creepy guy. Well, two creepy guys actually, but the first one was really creepy," Riley said brightly, bumping shoulder's with Maya good naturedely. Maya couldn't help but flinch at the sudden contact.

"My gosh Maya, you really are a hero," Mrs Matthews said brightly.

Maya tried to think of something to say, but her brain wasn't working properly. She felt claustrophobic suddenly. She could no longer see the door, and her hands were occupied by the cake and the water. Riley was way too close to her, but she was wedged in the corner of the couch and couldn't move away. Directly in front of her Mr Matthews was blocking her from getting up. He wasn't a particularly tall man, but since she'd sunk so low into the couch he looked like a giant towering over her. He was saying something, but there was buzzing in Maya's ears and she couldn't make out what it was. He reached out towards her suddenly, and Maya recoiled sharply. The plate with the cake on it crashed to the floor and the water was only prevented from spilling all over the couch by a quick save on Riley's part. Mr Matthews' hand retracted, but all she could do was stare at his face. His short, curly hair was morphing into blonde, oily, shoulder length strands. His smooth chin was growing a rough beard and, worst of all, his eyes were changing from warm and brown to blue, beady and bloodshot. Maya shot to her feet and pushed past him, wrenching the front door open and taking off at a sprint down the hallway.

 **Hope you enjoyed reading! If you've got time, make aure to leave a review! They motivate me to update sooner!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hiya, it's me, back again with another chapter! To give you guys some perspective the story is probably about half way now, maybe a little less than that. I hope you enjoy!**

The day after 'the incident,' as Mr Matthews had decided to dub it, he found Maya in her usual janitor's closet. She didn't look up upon his entering, she just shut her sketch book and slid it carefully into her bag.

"Hey, kiddo." Mr Matthews placed her fifteen dollars in her lap. She still didn't look at him, absently fingering the crisp notes.

"Look, about last night," Mr Matthews started, but Maya held up her hand.

"I'll figure out a way to pay for the broken plate, I promise, and I'm sorry if I freaked you or your wife out."To

"Maya, Maya, Maya," he sighed, sinking down onto a paint can. "Neither me or my Wife were worried about the stupid plate. In fact, I think Topanga was quite happy. My mother sent it for christmas last year. She hated it, but couldn't bring herself to thrown it away. You did her a favour." Maya's lips curved into a small smile.

"Your wife's name is Topanga?" Mr Matthews grinned back at her.

"Don't wear it out."

"I don't see how you could." He laughed and she slowly put the money in her pocket.

"I'm still sorry," she said quietly. "I kind of went mental on you."

"Well yeah," he admitted, "Riley got a little scared. I think that was only because she'd used to you being this big, evil bully, though." Maya rubbed the back of her head awkwardly.

"I get it, though," Mr Matthews continued. "We overwhelmed you. We were all talking at once and shoving cake at you and it was just a little too much."

"I guess." Maya tugged on the sleeve of her sweatshirt. "I'm a little people-phobic. Like, claustrophobic but with people, and you were all so close and you were touching me and..." she trailed off and shuddered.

"You don't like people touching you?" Mr Matthews said curiously. Maya shrugged.

"Not really. When your wife, ah, Topanga, hugged me I almost knocked her flat."

"You don't like hugs?" Mr Matthew exclaimed, appalled. "We're going to have to do something about that. Come here." Maya looked at him warily.

"I'm warning you right now, I've punched grown men in the face before and I won't hesitate to do it again." Mr Matthews clucked his tongue impatiently.

"Fine," he huffed, scooting his can closer to her instead. "No hugs, we'll work up to that." He reached out, making sure to keep his movements slow. Maya's pupils visibly dialated as his hands gently curled around her upper arms.

"Is this alright?" Mr Matthews asked.

"No," Maya snapped. He grimaced.

"I'm going to take that as a 'I'm not comfortable with this, but I'm not going to freak out like I did in your apartment, Mr Matthews.'"

"This really feels like grooming," she commented. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm a teacher, Maya, not a pedophile."

"Could have fooled me." Maya pushed his hands off her and stood up.

"I'm getting food," she declared. "See ya round, Matthews."

"We have histroy next period," Mr Matthews reminded her. "Don't you dare cut my class, Hart."

"Wouldn't dream of it." She flashed him a quick smile, then left him alone in the closet.

Maya didn't end up cutting the class, though thinking back she really wished she had. Mr Matthews droned on about the Celts and the Romans for awhile, then sprung a project on them that, true to form, didn't have a whole lot to do with Celts and Romans. He paired them off before explaining what it was. Since Maya was sitting next to Riley, she got stuck with her. Riley kept shooting her worried glances, as if she was going to freak out and run out of the classroom at any minute.

"This should be fun," Maya said under her breath. Riley gave her a strained smile.

"Okie dokie." Mr Matthews rubbed his hands together, a huge grin plastered on his face. "The Celts and the Romans were enemies, and they both lived very different lives. The Romans lived in great palaces and had slaves to wait on them, where as the Celts lived in huts made largely of sticks and animal dung." A couple of the more immature kids sniggered and Mr Matthews smiled. "Your assignment is to present a report on how your partner lives. Comment on their bedroom, their house in general and their daily routine." Farkle immediately put up his hand.

"Yes?"

"Well Sir, I was just thinking this project is a bit of a stretch. How exactly will snooping into our classmate's private lives teach us anything about Celts and Romans?" Mr Matthews scratched the back of his head.

"Well, Farkle, that's ah, that's a very good question. You see, if the Celts and Romans had explored their differences snd similarities more, then perhaps they would have come to a peaceful resolution." He snapped his fingers, "in fact, add that to your reports. Comment on your own similarities and differences with your partner, and how you can learn from them." Conveniently, the bell chose that exact moment to ring. Maya gathered her books and stood, exiting the room ad wuickly as possibly. Riley was sure to ask to do the project tonight, since she was obsessed with staying on top of homework. Maya had to come up with a game plan. Maybe she could go to the Matthew's tonight, and Riley to come to hers tomorrow night. That would give her plenty of time to clean her room from top to bottom and try to make it look at least somewhat presentable. She could explain the lack of furnature by saying it was out being cleaned or something, and she could explain her lack of a bed spread by saying that-

"Maya," Riley said from behind her, sounding somewhat nervous. Maya jumped a little and spun on her heel.

"Oh, it's you."

"Can I come over to yours tonight?" The brunette asked, tapping her foot anxiously. "Only, I have a ton of homework to do over the weekend, so I want to get this out of the way fast."

"My apartment is being fumigated tonight," Maya improvised. "So, no." Riley's face fell.

"Seriously? My apartment is being fumigated tonight, too! We have to stay in a hotel and everything. It sucks so much." Maya cursed herself mentally as the cogs began noticably working inside Riley's head.

"Maybe we could do it over the weekend!" she exclaimed. "We could have a whole day in each other's lives! You can come over to mine on Saturday and we can do the Maths homework together and help eachother, then I can go over to yours on Sunday. It'll be perfect." Maya shifted her weight from one foot to the other nervously. The weekend definitely wasn't a good time to have Riley in her apartment. No day was a good day, but the weekend was particularly bad.

"Actually, that might-"

"It's settled," Riley said , cutting Maya off. "Come to my house at around ten on Saturday morning, you already know where it is." With that she skipped off to her friends, who had been watching the conversation worriedly, like Maya was going to suddenly lash out and hit Riley.

"Not work for me," Maya finished lamely, watching as the trio walked down the corridor together with their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders.

 **Please take the time to leave a review! Criticism is always appreciated; anything that helps me be a better writer is good in my books. Thanks for reading :)**


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